This is one of those wonderful dishes where you can switch things up depending on what ingredients you have on hand. For example, you can use any type of sausage or bacon, but I still think the dish would be tasty even if you left the meat out all together. If you don’t have any shrimp you could throw in some other type of seafood instead. If you don’t like oysters (I fall in this department!) then not to worry. This is the type of dish where you can be creative and
make substitutions as you see fit…and best of all enjoy the end result (and don’t forget to freeze the leftovers!).
When I recently made this dish I did not use sausage (we used bacon instead) and I did not add any of the extra black pepper or hot sauce. There is already a little red pepper in the Creole seasoning so that was the only source of heat in our dish. And to my surprise both of my girls ate (small amounts) of it when it was served. Point being – at least they didn’t hate it! When I first added the spices I took a bite and immediately thought it would be too spicy for them, but after the rice and liquids got cooking it really made the dish more palatable for those younger taste buds. So give it shot with your children before offering up a separate kid meal!
Easy Jambalaya (adapted from Commander’s Kitchen cookbook)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ pound of sausage (preferably andoullie) or bacon
- 1 large bell pepper, any color, in large dice
- 1 large onion, in large dice
- 3 ribs celery, in large dice
- 1 small head garlic, cloves peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning (sold premixed or make some)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 large tomatoes chopped (or equivalent quantity of cherry tomatoes)
- 3/4 pound raw shrimp, peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 cups quick cooking brown rice
- 2 cups chicken stock/broth (if you don’t have any stock you could use water instead)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 pint shucked oysters, with their liquor (optional)
- Hot sauce, to taste (optional)
- Green onions for garnish
- Combine the butter and sausage (or bacon) in a large soup pot over high heat. Cook for about 6 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Add the bell pepper, onion, celery, garlic, Creole seasoning, salt and black pepper to taste. Saute over high heat for about 8 minutes, or until the veggies have browned and carmelized.
- Add the tomatoes, shrimp, and bay leaves, and stir for a couple of minutes.
- Add the rice, stir gently, then add the broth and water. Gently stir the rice again to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes (or until the rice is tender).
- Turn off the heat and fold in the oysters (if using), cover, and let sit for about 8 minutes. If not using oysters you can skip this step altogether.
- Garnish with green onions and serve.
Okra is a favorite of mine!!! I know okra is usually an all or nothing as far as preference- it really adds a lot to gumbo. I’ve lived in Louisiana all my life, I’ve had it a few times;) I am allergic to shellfish, so I have to think outside the box for add-ins for gumbo!
Okra is a great suggestion! And we even had some in our fridge too. Oh well…next time!
Can you recommend a quick cooking brown rice? Thanks.
The one we buy is Nishiki brand and it literally says “Quick Cooking Brown Rice” in big letters across the front of the bag. I found it at Earthfare.
I’m glad you had your kids try it. I think we’ve been hoodwinked into thinking that kids only like “kid food”, or bland, flavorless food. If kids only like kid food, I tend to think it is because it’s the only thing they’re presented with. My OB gave me great advice when my now-16-year-old was beginning to eat solid foods. I asked her what he could eat – she said “feed him anything you like to eat. Otherwise he’ll only eat macaroni and cheese.” She was so right.
I’m enjoying your blog very much.
It sounds like your OB was one smart lady…I couldn’t agree more!
Sounds delicious. On a seperate note, could you do a blog on what your typical shopping list looks like…..either on this site or 100 days of Real Food? It’s overwhelming to start shopping/eating this way so a quick list to get us started would be great. Thanks in advance!
Dana I will definitely do a post on that…I hope to get to it in the next couple of weeks (now that the kids are starting school again!)
Hi Lisa, I tried this recipe last night and it came out looking totally different. Mine was VERY wet/soupy, but amazingly still yummy. I think my main issue was not being able to find organic quick cooking brown rice. At my EarthFare, there wasn’t such a thing – all in the bulk section – none were quick cooking (nothing less than 40 minutes) – same in the aisles, none that I thought would work. I left with the only “quick” anything and it was the kind that took 90 seconds to cook (i.e. I think it was already packaged mostly cooked). So, it never “bulked up” or did anything during the 15 minutes of simmering. I don’t know where else to try and get such a thing, but guessing/hoping that’s why mine looked so different. At least my son and I both liked it! Wahoo!!!
If you couldn’t find quick cooking then you probably would need to simmer it for much longer. I am glad it still tasted okay though. If you can’t find quick cooking next time then cook it for longer or soak up the liquid with some good whole-wheat bread!
Debbie and anyone else that is interested, the Nishiki quick cooking brown rice can be bought online on Amazon. Just dont take it all cause I need to order some too!
Made this two nights ago and I botched it up. The rice never cooked properly and it was crunchy to eat. So disappointing. We drove to Chipotle for back up. However, I ate it for lunch today and it was better – it seems the juices softened the rice. At least I tried it, but I won’t make it again.
I will be trying this recipe tonight. I love this blog.
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Made this recipe tonight….my husband LOVED it
I just found your website and am going crazy making everything. Thank you!
Just made it with what I had on hand-bison sausage, carrots, asparagus, onions, & red pepper–with some old bay seasoning-Delicious! I love how all your recipes are a great base & then you can simply change them a bit with what you have on hand! I also loved the one pot clean up…
Made this for dinner and hubby it was a 5 out of 5′ that’s pretty rare. I used regular brown rice, so I cooked the sausage first and then the shrimp in the drippings, the pulled those out, I cooked the rest according to the recipe, simmered for 50 minutes, adding the protein in during the last 15 minutes. It worked great. Tried the cornbread with it, which didn’t turn out so great, but I’d try it again (I didn’t add the cheese, and well cheese makes everything better!).
I am NOT a cook, but tried this recipe last night for my family of 5. I made my own chicken stock w/ the leftovers of the “Whole Chicken Crock Pot”. (which was fabulous, BTW) I followed this recipe exactly, but could tell when it was simmering that it was going to be way too watered down and not look like the picture. So, I cooked some extra rice seperately and that supplemented perfectly. It was very tasty, my husband LOVED it. Even my girls (8 & 10) and my 2 1/2 yr old son liked it. SCORE! Also, my 10 yr old girl helped me cook it and made for a very good lesson for both of us. Thanks!